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Avatar: The Way of Water Streaming Release Date: When’s It Landing & Where?
Avatar: The Way of Water FINALLY has a release date. But when will you be able to stream the movie? Here’s everything you need to know..
James Cameron, for whatever reason, has spent the past decade working on a sequel to Avatar. Every time I think about this, I get a little angry. Cameron isn’t getting any younger and he is one of the best directors of all time. I just cannot help but think about all the potential films he could have made rather than going all-in on Avatar.
His output over the years, as well as notorious attention to detail while making films, earned him a reputation as tough to work with. Ed Harris, for instance, vowed he would never work with Cameron again after The Abyss wrapped. Still, Cameron knows how to get results. And the proof is very much in the pudding – he is a one-man hit factory.
With Avatar, Cameron wowed audiences with plenty of new technology, immersing viewers inside an alien world. The film was a huge success too, earning almost $3 billion at the box office. With this kind of money in its coffers and Cameron at the helm, a sequel was ALWAYS going to happen. No one expected it to take quite this long, though…
Avatar: The Way of Water Release Date
When is Avatar: The Way of Water getting a release date? The film will, of course, first be coming to cinemas. After many delays and years of post-production, Avatar: The Way of Water will get its release date, globally, on December 16, 2022.
Unlike plenty of new films released between 2020 and 2022, Avatar: The Way of Water will NOT be coming straight to streaming platforms. Cameron is not a fan of streaming; he likes his films on the big screen, so expect a massive cinema and IMAX run. And that makes sense, this film will be a huge spectacle best seen in a cinema.
As for when it will come to streaming platforms, well… that’s another question entirely. But we can make some pretty good estimates based on the processes other big-budget blockbusters go through before they hit streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Netflix.
Avatar: The Way of Water Streaming Release Date
Before the rise of Disney+ and Paramount+, a film’s trajectory to streaming platforms was a lot simpler. A new film would get a cinema release date and then, several months later, land on streaming platforms – either Netflix or Amazon Prime.
But things are now quite a bit different.
Avatar is owned by 20th Century Fox which, in turn, is owned by Disney, so when Avatar: The Way of Water does come to streaming platforms it will almost certainly be a Disney+ / HULU exclusive, meaning it will NOT be available on Netflix any time soon.
With big IP releases, Disney still likes its films to head to cinemas first, before releasing it on its streaming platforms. With Avatar: The Way of Water, this will almost certainly be the case: it will have a long run at the cinema and then, later on in the year, debut on Disney+ and HULU.
How long will you have to wait before you can stream Avatar: The Way of Water? Usually, a film comes to Disney+ around four months after its release in the cinema. If Avatar: The Way of Water follows the same rule, it will be available to stream on Disney+ and HULU in and around April/May 2023 – although it could, of course, be longer.
Having said that, big blockbuster films are now getting shorter and shorter exclusive runs in cinemas. For instance, The Batman was available on HBO Max 45 days after its release in cinemas. With PREY, Disney skipped the cinema altogether and just released it on Disney+ and HULU. With Avatar, I’m guessing the delay will be longer because, well, it’s an Avatar movie.
Whatever happens, when Avatar: The Way of Water does come to streaming it will be exclusively available on Disney+ and HULU and I wouldn’t expect to see it on Netflix at all, although you will be able to buy it and, potentially, rent it on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and other digital movie platforms.
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